On June 10, 1826, a new censorship Charter was issued, called by contemporaries "cast iron". He reproduced in all its purity the idea of ​​preliminary censorship. These are the strictest rules of censorship, compiled by A.S. Shishkov.

The purpose of this censorship statute is to counteract the spirit of the times, expressed in the political upheavals of Europe. He strictly followed the political integrity and morality of all printed matter. The censorship regulations of 1826 were entrusted with three main concerns: the sciences and the education of youth, morals and internal security, and the direction of public opinion in accordance with political circumstances and types of government. The main body of censorship was made the supreme censorship committee of three members of the ministers - public education, internal affairs and foreign affairs. In contrast to the censorship regulations of 1804, the "cast-iron" regulations were extremely detailed (its volume was five times larger) and consisted of 19 chapters and 230 paragraphs. The new charter was permeated with the desire to regulate all possible tasks of censorship and the actions of its apparatus. In 11 chapters, the goals and objectives of censorship were defined, its organizational foundations were outlined, in fact, the first structure of the censorship apparatus in the history of Russia was proposed. In the remaining 8 chapters, the nature, methods and methods of censorship of various types of printed works were revealed in detail. In the censorship rules, the duties of the censor are defined to the smallest detail, precisely from the educational and pedagogical point of view. In order to have at least some idea about this charter, we will briefly mention some of its paragraphs, the most prominent.

It was forbidden to place official articles and news about the most important events relating to Russia before they were made public by the government (§ 139). It was not allowed to skip places in works and translations that had a double meaning for publication, if one of them was contrary to censorship rules (§ 151). It was forbidden for authors to designate passages released by censorship with dots or other signs, “as if on purpose supplied so that readers themselves guess the content of the omitted narrative or expressions that are contrary to morality or public order” (§ 152). Compositions “in which the rules and purity of the Russian language are clearly violated” were forbidden (§ 154).

The following paragraph is devoted to the international political relations of Russia towards Europe at that time: censorship is obliged to strictly observe that “nothing disrespectful or offensive to the powers that are in friendly relations with Russia, and especially to the Holy Alliance” is printed. Regarding the censorship of historical books, § 181 says: "History must not contain arbitrary speculations that do not belong to the narrative." In §§ 186-193 instructions are given on the censorship of books of logic, philosophy, law, as well as in the natural sciences and medicine.

Fortunately, the operation of this statute was short-lived: it soon became clear that such decrees on the press completely undermine this latter at its roots. In society, voices were heard against the severity of censorship, so a reform in the censorship charter was required.

reform censorship liberalism

In 1826, a new Charter of Censorship was established, which was extremely strict and provided ample room for arbitrary interpretation. According to the Charter, censorship was allocated to a special department headed by a supreme censorship committee composed of the ministers of public education, internal and external affairs. According to the Charter, called "cast iron", it was forbidden to criticize the government and any authorities, as well as to make any proposals for reforms. The bans also applied to the discussion of foreign policy issues. It was forbidden to skip passages in print that had a double meaning, and even to put ellipses instead of the passages cut out by the censor.

The name of Emperor Nicholas I is associated with the strengthening of the state and its bureaucracy, which sought to preserve the privileges of the nobility, whose interests it represented and defended. In the fight against sedition, with which the reign of Nicholas I began, the emperor relied on the police and censorship. With regard to the latter, he did not have to invent something new: at first, he was quite satisfied with the policy pursued by the Minister of Public Education in 1824–1828. Alexander Semenovich Shishkov at the end of the life of Alexander I. Under the new emperor, Shishkov was able to realize his ideas about censorship, which did not have the support of Alexander I. The fact is that Shishkov, long before his appointment as minister, dealt with issues of reforming censorship. So, back in 1815, he spoke at a meeting of the State Council with criticism of the censorship charter of 1804 and the small size of the censorship corps. Shishkov proposed his draft censorship department, consisting of two committees: the upper one (the ministers of public education, the police, the chief prosecutor of the Synod and the president of the Academy of Sciences) and the lower one (“elected, mature, good-natured people”, scientists who know languages ​​and literature), including departments on sorts of censored books. Many of the ideas of the Minister of Education would receive support during the censorship reform of 1826.
In the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Public Education, even before the appointment of Shishkov as minister, a draft censorship charter was created. But the new minister found it insufficient “to the perfection desired in this case” and made comments, taking into account which the censorship charter of 1826 was drawn up. The new censorship charter had two authors: Admiral Shishkov and Prince P.A. Shirinsky-Shikhmatov, one of the major statesmen of the Nikolaev period.
Approved on June 10 (22), 1826, the Charter on censorship formed the basis of the ongoing censorship reform. It was permeated with the desire to regulate all possible tasks of censorship and the actions of its apparatus. Because of this, in terms of its volume, the new Charter was five times larger than the Charter of 1804: it consisted of 19 chapters and 230 paragraphs. If 11 chapters outlined the goals and objectives of censorship, and its organizational foundations, then the remaining 8 chapters detailed the nature, methods and methods of censorship of various types of printed products.
According to the charter of 1826, censorship controlled three areas of the socio-political and cultural life of society: rights and internal security; direction of public opinion; science and education of youth. As before, censorship was entrusted to the Ministry of Public Education, and its activities were supervised by the Main Directorate of Censorship, to assist which the Supreme Censorship Committee was created, consisting of three ministers. The censorship committees in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Dorpat and Vilna were subordinate to the Supreme Committee. In addition, the spiritual department, the Academy of Sciences, universities and a number of administrative institutions of the central and local levels were involved in the sphere of censorship. That is, in organizational terms, this gave rise to duplication of functions and, as a result, the subjectivity of censorship and near-censorship bodies.
The "cast-iron" statute forbade historical writings in which: "encroachers on legitimate authority, who have received a fair punishment for their deeds, are presented as victims of the public good, deserving a better fate"; if they showed "an unfavorable disposition towards monarchical rule"; any comparison of forms of government; reasoning about the historical process. Of the philosophical works, only textbooks were allowed. Paragraph 115 of the Rules did not allow the publication of "places in works and translations that have a double meaning, if one of them is contrary to censorship rules." This went against not only the censorship Charter of 1804, but also with subsequent censorship practices.
The censorship charter of 1826 was saturated with unnecessary details that had no direct relation to censorship and overloaded the text. For example, the document gave detailed rules for the guidance of not only censors, but also a statement of the rights and obligations of book sellers, library keepers, printers and lithographers, and so on.
The charter of 1826 defined the position of censor as an independent profession, "requiring constant attention" and therefore not connected with another position. The staff of the censors was increased and their salaries increased. For example, the Main Censorship Committee in St. Petersburg now had not three censors, but six. Their salaries increased from 1200 rubles. per year up to 4 thousand, and the censors of local committees - up to 3 thousand rubles.
At first, the new rules were implemented quite strictly, but then the opinion about the danger of placing all printed materials under the strict guardianship of the government prevailed. When in 1827 the Minister of the Interior V.S. Lanskoy began to develop a special censorship charter regulating the activities of foreign censorship, he was faced with the need to deviate from the essence of the paragraphs of the "cast-iron" charter. In response to his appeal, Nicholas I ordered not only not to adhere to individual rules of the Charter, but also to revise it as a whole. By the Highest command, a commission was organized, consisting of V.S. Lansky, A.X. Benkendorf, Prince I.V. Vasilchikov, Privy Councilor Count S.S. Uvarov and State Councilor D.V. Dashkov. The commission worked out a draft of a new censorship charter, which was submitted to the State Council. So, in 1828, the third and softer censorship charter was born, which allowed the publication of information on the history, geography and statistics of Russia. It was built on the principle that censorship should prohibit the publication or sale of only those works "which are harmful in relation to faith, the throne, good morals and personal honor of citizens."
Although the new Charter required delving into the "clear meaning of speech", without arbitrary interpretations and analysis of the author's private judgments, these norms were paralyzed by a number of prohibitive articles, in particular, regarding reasoning about modern government measures. Questions of the internal life of the state were practically withdrawn from the discussion. Literary controversy was banned. And at the same time, the censors were not supposed to let even hints of the severity of censorship go into print. The independence of censorship finally disappeared with the establishment in 1848 of a special secret committee. "Harmful" writings (especially historical works) were now transferred to the III department.
The new document, which served as a guide for the country's censorship apparatus until the 1860s, was more compact (only 117 paragraphs, 40 of which were about foreign censorship, which was not at all in the Charter of 1826). In contrast to the "cast-iron" Charter, the document of 1828 instructed the censors: to take as a basis only the explicit meaning of the speech, without carping about individual words and expressions. The censor was not supposed to enter into an analysis of the fairness or unfoundedness of the private opinions or judgments of the writer" and act as an editor. The organizational structure of censorship institutions was simplified, the number of censors increased, and their work was facilitated. The highest authority was the Main Directorate of Censorship under the Ministry of Public Education, which consisted of: Comrade Minister of Public Education, the Ministers of Internal and Foreign Affairs, the manager of the III Department, the presidents of the Academies of Sciences and Arts, representatives of the spiritual department and the trustee of the St. Petersburg educational district. Under the chairmanship of the trustees of educational districts in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kyiv, Odessa, Riga, Vilna and Tiflis, local censorship committees were created, and separate censors were appointed in Kazan, Dorpat. The new Charter, in the opinion of the State Council, gave less freedom to the "own arbitrariness of the censors" and thus contributed to the "success of true enlightenment."

CHAPTER FIRST
About censorship in general.
§ 1. The purpose of the establishment of censorship is to give the works of literature, sciences and arts, when they are published by means of printing, engraving and lithography, a direction that is useful or at least harmless for the good of the Fatherland.
§ 2. From this it follows that all books, compositions, copybooks, Geographical and Topographic maps, drawings, drawings, plans, pictures, portraits and musical notes published within the State are subject to Censorship.
§ 3. The duty of the Censorship in examining all these works is to protect the Holy Place, the Throne, the authorities decreed from it, the laws of the Fatherland, the morals and honor of the people and personal from any, not only malicious and criminal, but also unintentional attempt on them.
CHAPTER TWO
Management and composition of Censorship.
§ 4. The General Directorate of Censorship is entrusted to the Minister of Public Education.
§ 5. To assist him in solving the most important cases of Censorship, and the top leadership of the Censors, a supreme Censorship Committee is established.
§ 6. The three most important cares in relation to the Censorship, namely: a) about the sciences and the education of youth; b) on morals and internal security, and c) on the direction of public opinion, according to the present political circumstances and types of Government, determine the composition of the supreme Censorship Committee of three members: the Minister of Public Education, the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, or correcting their positions .
§ 7. The place of the Governor of the affairs of the supreme Censorship Committee is taken by the Director of the Office of the Minister of Public Education.
§ 8. Other parts constituting the Censorship are:
1. Main Censorship Committee in St. Petersburg.
2. Moscow
3. Dertsky
4. Vilensky
CHAPTER THREE
Composition of the Main and other Censorship Committees.
§ 9. The Chief Censorship Committee consists of six Censors, between whom the examination of books in different languages ​​is divided, and the Chairman, who oversees the exact execution of everything that is decreed by the Censorship Institutions.
§ 12. The Chief Censorship Committee reports directly to the Minister of Public Education, from whom it asks for the necessary permission.
§ 14. The Moscow, Derpt and Vilna Censorship Committees each consist of three Censors, including the Chairmen.
Section 18. The Censorship Committees are subordinate to the Trustees of the School Districts, through whom they seek, if necessary, the permission of the Minister.
CHAPTER FOUR
Procedure for determination and dismissal.
§ 20. The Chairman of the Main Censorship Committee is appointed and dismissed by the Highest Power, on the proposal of the Minister of Public Education.
§ 25. The office of Censors in general, requiring constant attention, and in itself laborious and important, cannot be combined, in one person, with another office.
Note. Exceptions to this rule can be allowed only on the basis of respect for the special abilities and learning of persons necessary for the Censorship.
CHAPTER FIVE
The order of proceedings in the Supreme Censorship Committee and the duties of the onago.
§ 29. Censorship cases requiring considerations in the state form, both in relation to the internal structure of Russia and its external relations, are subject to the final consideration of the supreme Censorship Committee.
§ 34 ... The Governor of the affairs of the Supreme Censorship Committee, under the supervision of its members, annually leaves instructions to the Censors, which should contain special instructions and guidelines, for the most accurate implementation of certain articles of the Charter, depending on the circumstances of the time.
CHAPTER SIX
The order of proceedings in the main and other Censorship Committees and the duties thereof.
§ 47. In order to facilitate the operations of the Censorship, and so that the Censorship Committees may not be needlessly hampered by the consideration of books and manuscripts already prohibited by one of them, but submitted again to the Censorship under different titles, it is observed that, in the execution of the preceding paragraph, not only the title of the book or manuscript, the number of pages and the name of the writer or publisher, but also the content of the work, at least in the main articles.
§ 48. The General Censorship Committee will draw up annually a list of all books banned by it and other Censorship Committees, to be reported to the police, through the Minister of the Interior, and announced to all AI booksellers and keepers of Reading Libraries.
§ 50. A writer, translator or publisher of a book, also an artist, who wishes to obtain approval for printing, lithography or engraving of his work, must, at a brief request to the Censorship Committee, submit a manuscript, drawing, drawing, geographical map, etc., that he intends to publish; and the manuscripts must be clean, clear and correct rewritten.
Note. In no case can the works intended for the first edition be submitted for censorship review in already printed sheets, but certainly in manuscripts, not excluding time-based editions from this rule.
§ 52. In addition, if the publisher did not himself compose the manuscript or the book which he intends to publish, he is obliged to present a written certificate that he has legally acquired the ownership of it.
§ 57. For statements and time editions published at certain times, the procedure established here is reduced by the fact that publishers, with their notes, can directly forward manuscripts to the Censors, whose consideration they are subject to; and these may apply them with approval to publishers, without submission to the Committee. But in such cases, the Censors are obliged to submit weekly notes about the numbers of time editions they have omitted to the Censorship Committee, which, putting them together, constitutes one common file about this.
§ 61. Remarks and changes of the Censors are marked on the manuscripts in red ink.
§ 63. In the case of a new submission to the Censorship of the same, but corrected, manuscript, it is observed that the passages prohibited by the Censorship are not replaced by periods that could give rise to unfounded conjectures and false rumors.
§ 64. If all or a significant part of a manuscript or printed book is subject to prohibition, then the Censor is obliged to submit it to the Committee with his written opinion, extracts and notes, for the correctness of which he himself is responsible.
Section 67. In case of disagreement between the Censors, the case for the prohibition of a book is submitted from the Chief Censor Committee directly to the Minister, and from other Censor Committees through the intermediary of the trustees, who in this case apply their opinion.
§ 68. Censors are obliged to consider and submit to the Censorship Committees books and essays according to the seniority of their entry. From this rule are excluded statements, time editions, and other works, the main purpose of which is to be published by a certain time. These works must always be returned before others.
§ 69. The publisher, having received back a book or manuscript approved by the Censorship, is free to give it to which printing house he decides for printing.
§ 70. The writer, translator or publisher, if they wish, may not print their name on the work; but the name of the owner of the printing house must certainly be put on the title page, also the city where the book was printed, and the year when it was printed.
§ 72. The Censorship Committee, having received the printed copy and the approved manuscript from the owner of the printing house, submits them for comparison to the Censor who approved the manuscript for publication.
§ 73. The censor, having compared the printed copy with the manuscript and found them similar in all parts, inscribes on the title page of the first: this book can be issued from the printing house, and having indicated the year, month and date, he confirms this evidence with his signature. Upon completion of this, both a copy of the book and the manuscript are submitted to the Committee, which transfers them to the Library and Archives, and the owner of the printing house issues a written permission to release the book, signed by the Chairman and with his seal attached.
§ 76. If the Censor, when comparing the printed copy with the approved manuscript, saw in the first of them a dissimilarity that turns the meaning and gives one or more articles a meaning contrary to the rules of the Charter, then, having noticed these articles on the copy in red ink, represents it together with the manuscript to the Committee, which informs the publisher about the reprinting of the sheets on which the indicated articles were opened, and until this is fulfilled, does not give permission for the release of copies from the printing house.
§ 77. After reprinting the said sheets, new prints are submitted in the established order to the Censorship Committee and subjected to due consideration, and the old sheets are destroyed in the presence of the Censor who examined them.
§ 80. According to complaints from publishers against the Main Censorship Committee, the Minister requires an explanation of the Committee and resolves them himself or orders them to be brought to the consideration of the Main Board of Schools.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The order of proceedings in the general meetings of the Censorship Committees and the cases to be considered by these meetings.
§ 84. Cases subject to consideration in general meetings. Prohibition of Manuscript Printing
No work of literature, sciences and arts, proposed for publication, can be subjected to a drastic prohibition, without consideration in the general meeting of the Censors of the Committee to which such a work is submitted.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Responsibilities of Booksellers and Keepers of Reading Libraries
§ 90. Booksellers and keepers of free libraries shall not have for sale or for reading any books not approved by the Censorship.
CHAPTER NINE
On the owners of printing houses and lithographs.
§ 97. The right to maintain a printing house and lithography can not be acquired otherwise than by the presentation by the applicant of sufficient evidence of his trustworthiness. This certificate is considered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and, if it is satisfactory, about the opening of the indicated institutions, it is communicated with the Ministry of Public Education.
§ 98. If the latter, for its part, does not find any obstacles to this, then the applicant is issued a written permission from the Ministry of the Interior.
CHAPTER TEN
On exceptions to the general censorship rules.
§ 102. Books of Holy Scripture, Dogmatic, Ecclesiastical and, in general, of Spiritual and Spiritual-moral content in the Slavic and Russian languages, are subject to consideration by the Spiritual Censorship, which is under the jurisdiction of the Commission of Theological Schools and the Holy Synod. The same rule is applied to works concerning Church administration and Church history. An exception to this general rule is allowed only in favor of the Uniates, which is discussed more extensively in § 120.
§ 105. Books belonging to the Greek-Russian confession, even though they were written in foreign languages, are considered in the Spiritual Censorship.
§ 104. But inasmuch as books that are not spiritual, in terms of their main content, very often can contain places of proper spiritual content, then in such cases, in case of doubt of the Censorship Committees of the Ministry of Public Education, they are obliged to communicate with the spiritual Censorship and be guided by its conclusions.
§ 106. Assumed for engraving, or lithography, images of the Holy Saints and in general Sacred objects are subject to the consideration of spiritual Censorship.
§ 107. Universities and Academies of the Department of the Ministry of Public Education and Medical-Surgical with its branch in Moscow, as well as the Medical Council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, are given the right to consider and approve for publication, without the participation of Censorship Committees, speeches, scientific reasoning and all kinds of other works read in the collections of these estates, and published on behalf of them, and not on behalf of their Members.
§ 108. Universities, moreover, are entrusted with the Censorship of published by them, according to the Minister of Public Education, time-based works.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
On the acquisition of the right to publish statements and other time-based publications.
§ 127. Periodical publications can generally be divided into two categories: those published from different places that are part of the State Administration, or under the supervision of them, and those published from individuals and societies.
§ 128. In the first case, after a preliminary communication between the chief authorities of the place that intends to publish a temporary work, with the Ministry of Public Education, the Supreme State permission is requested. In the second, it is granted to give permission to the Minister of Public Education.
§ 129. The right to publish any periodical publication can only be granted to a person of good morals, well-known in the field of domestic literature, who has proved by his writings a good mindset and good intentions, and is able to direct public opinion to a useful goal.
§ 130. Therefore, those who wish to obtain such a right are allowed to apply with a request to that Censorship Committee, the consideration of which should be subject to the consideration of time-based works intended for publication; moreover, it has to be presented: a) a detailed presentation of the purpose and content of the time-based essay; b) the petitioner's previous printed works; (c) Service records and other evidence, if he has them, of the zealous performance of duties incurred, at various times, by the rank he held in society.
§ 136. If the Censorship Committee, on the basis of a considerable number of articles prohibited by it, makes sure that the publisher of a time-based work does not have a good mindset and intends to give his publication a direction harmful to readers, then, having made an extract from such articles, submits, through whom he follows, to the Minister of the People's Education, with an opinion about the prohibition of a writer convicted in this way of bad intentions, to continue publishing his time-based work.
§ 137. After considering this case in the Main Censorship Committee, the Minister of Public Education is free to prohibit all periodical publication, without waiting for the end of the year, and then the subscribers are given the right to search the publisher, or publishers following them according to their calculation, for the unissued parts of the annual publication, money.
Section 138. The publisher or publishers of a temporary work, who are subject to the prohibition once mentioned before, are forever deprived of the right to publish temporary works, either by themselves or in partnership with others.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Containing general provisions for guidance when considering various kinds of works
§ 139. In books and writings published in general from private people, including time-based ones, it is forbidden to place official articles, news of important events relating to Russia, and Imperial Rescripts before they are made public by the Government.
§ 140. The rescripts in Bose of the reposed Sovereigns of the Russian Federation, which were not made public at the time, may not be printed otherwise than with the special permission of the Minister of National Education, or the Supreme Censorship Committee, with the request, in necessary cases, of the Highest permission for that.
§ 147. Political news in those sheets and temporary publications that, according to their plan approved by the Minister of National Education, can contain such information, must not otherwise be allowed to be printed, as with an indication of the sources from which they are taken, and with observance, moreover, of the general Censorship rules.
§ 153. Articles entitled Critic and Anti-Critic, intended to be published in temporary editions, or separately, must be based on impartial judgments, and in this case, at least contain unpleasant, but fair objections and necessary for the benefit of language and literature denunciations of errors are freely approved for publication. And, however, it is observed that personal insults do not creep into such articles, and that they do not turn into swearing, completely useless correspondence for readers.
§ 158. Without violating the general strictness of supervision over all books entering the Censorship, the Censors must pay special attention to temporary and small works, which diverge faster than others and, in the case of reprehensible content, can produce much more dangerous consequences.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Rules for the leadership of the Censors.
§ 166. Any work of literature is prohibited, not only outrageous against the Government and the authorities appointed by it, but also weakening the respect due to them.
§ 168. Any work or translation in which, directly or indirectly, the Monarchical form of government is condemned, is subject to prohibition.
§ 169. It is forbidden to print any proposals by private people about the transformation of any parts of the State Administration, or the change of the rights and privileges bestowed by the Highest on various states and estates of the State, if these assumptions have not yet been approved by the Government.
§ 171. Likewise prohibited are all discourses which speak, without due respect, of Princes, Governments, and political powers in general, or which offer inappropriate advice and instructions to any Government whatsoever.
§ 172. It goes without saying that a modest and decent discussion about the subjects of government of foreign States should not be forbidden.
§ 178. If the writer, describing the indignations that followed in different States against the legitimate authority, tries, directly or indirectly, to justify the perpetrators of these and to cover up the crime that occurred from that crime, the horrors and misfortunes of entire peoples; if all these woeful consequences are not presented as a salutary lesson to contemporaries and descendants, then his work, condemned by justice and humanity, is subject to strict prohibition.
§ 179. Any historical work is subjected to the same lot, in which encroachers on legitimate power, who have received a just punishment for their deeds, are presented as victims of the public good, deserving a better fate.
§ 185. Caricatures that represent in a ridiculous way the vices of people, so long as they do not concern the person, are not subject to any prohibition.
§ 204. The written permission of the Authorities removes all responsibility from the Censorship Committees.
§ 207. Consideration of investigations into accusations against the Censors of the Main Censorship Committee and the Chairmen of the Censorship Committees is carried out in the General Presence of the Main Censorship Committee and then in the Main Board of Schools.
§ 208. These officials are dismissed from their posts and put on trial with the Highest permission.
§ 212. If, more than expected, a manuscript was sent to the Censorship, full of thoughts and expressions that clearly reject the existence of God, arm against the faith and laws of the Fatherland, insult the Supreme Power, or are completely contrary to the spirit of social order and silence; in such a case, the Censorship Committee shall immediately bring this matter to the attention of the Minister of Public Education in accordance with the established procedure, and, after the latter's communication with the Minister of the Interior, the person guilty of composing or translating the said manuscript is subject to liability under the laws.
§ 213. Since the Rules of Censorship must not be unknown to any of the writers or artists who publish their works, then, in case of important circumstances, the responsibility for the content of their creations already printed does not cease from the fact that they are printed with the approval Censor. For much more guilty is the one who, while at liberty only busying himself with his composition, ponders in the silence of his office something harmful to public safety and morals, and then publishes it to the public, than the Censor, who considered his composition as his duty, along with many others.
§ 221. Owners of a printing house, convicted of printing, without the permission of the Censorship, books and works, the content of which is contrary to the Censorship rules, are forever deprived of the right to maintain a printing house and are brought to justice, and copies of the book not allowed for printing are burned.
§ 222. Everything that is said in this chapter about the owner of the printing house, has full force in relation to the owner of the lithograph.
§ 228. The titles of Chairman of the Censorship Committees and Censors, which are associated with difficult occupations, requiring, with sufficient knowledge in various sciences, special insight, and which are subject to a responsibility that takes precedence over other posts, it is considered fair to give some special advantages.
§ 229. As a result of this, the Presidents of the Censorship Committees and the Censors, who have served in these ranks for ten years without blame, if they were distinguished, moreover, by zeal and zeal in the performance of the offices assigned to them, a third part of their salary, which they use while continuing the service and having received from it, is turned into a life pension. dismissal.
§ 230. Fifteen years of unblemished service, subject to the conditions indicated in the preceding paragraph, entitle these officials to receive a pension, on dismissal from service altogether, of half of their salary.
Original signed: Alexander Shishkov.
Right: Director Prince. Shirinsky-Shikhmatov.
On the original by His Imperial Majesty's own hand it is written: Be according to this.
NIKOLAY.
Tsarskoye Selo June 10, 1826.

Baturin Yu.M. Censorship against glasnost: from Ivan the Terrible to 1917 // Soviet state and law. 1989. No. 3. S. 134-142.

Grinchenko N.A. History of censorship institutions in Russia in the first half of the nineteenth century. // Censorship in Russia. History and Modernity: Sat. scientific tr. Issue. 1. St. Petersburg, 2001, pp. 15-46.

Zhirkov G.V. History of censorship in Russia XIX-XX centuries. M., 2011.

Kinyapina N.S. Nicholas I: Personality and Politics // Bulletin of Moscow University. Series 8. History. 2000. No. 6. S. 8-40.

Mironenko S.V. Nicholas I // Russian autocrats: 1801-1917. 2nd ed. M., 1994. S. 91-158.

How did the Charter of 1826 define the goal of censorship?

Why did he get the name "cast iron"?

What were the functions of the Supreme Censorship Committee?

What works were prohibited by the Rules for the management of censors included in the Charter?

In what ways did the Rules of 1828 differ from the Rules of 1826?

Charter on censorship

DIVISION I.
About censorship in general

The censorship has the duty to consider all kinds of books and works intended for public use.

The main object of this consideration is to deliver to society books and writings that contribute to the true enlightenment of the mind and the formation of morals, and to remove books and writings that are contrary to this intention.

On this basis, not a single book or essay should be printed in the Russian Empire, or put on sale, without first being considered by the censors.

For the examination of books and essays, censorship committees are established at the university from professors and masters and are under the direct supervision of universities. Each of these committees considers books and essays printed by printers located in the district of the university where the committee is located. the committee also considers books and essays ordered from foreign countries for university officials.

For books and essays printed in the district of St. Petersburg University, before the opening of the university, a censorship committee is established under the authority of the trustee of this, from learned persons staying in this capital.

Censorship of books and essays published by the Main Schools of Government, the Academies: Sciences, Arts and Russian, as well as from the cadet corps, the state medical council, existing in St. Petersburg, and other scientific societies approved by the government, and state-owned places, is entrusted to report of those very places, and their chiefs. These books and writings may be printed in owned by these places or other printing houses.

The same books and essays that will be sent to the printing houses of the mentioned places for printing at the expense of third-party publishers, are embossed not before they have been considered by the censorship committee.

Books and ecclesiastical writings related to sacred scripture, faith, or the interpretation of the law of God and holiness, are subject to consideration by spiritual censorship, which is under the jurisdiction of the Holy Synod and diocesan bishops. Such books and essays must be printed in the synod or other printing houses, under the supervision of the synod.

Journals and other periodicals subscribed through post offices from foreign lands are considered in a special censorship instituted under them, which is guided in this by the rules of this Charter.

Manuscript plays presented at all, not excluding court theaters, both in the capitals and in other cities, before the presentation of these, are considered by censorship committees, and where there are no committees, directors of public schools, under the supervision of local authorities.

Consideration and permission to print theater posters and similar announcements and news, depends on the civil authorities.

SECTION II.
About censorship committees

Each censorship committee has a meeting at the appointed time. the censors that make up the committee divide among themselves the books and writings that come to the censorship, and after reading them, they submit written reports about them from themselves, for the correctness of which they themselves are responsible.

Books and works that the censor himself doubts to approve for publication, as well as books and printed works, which he considers next to be banned, are submitted to the full meeting of the censorship committee, for permission by a majority of votes; and in this case, those who approve or forbid the work or book are responsible.

In the same way, the entire censorship committee, in case of doubts about the books and writings it considers, asks through the trustee for permission from the Main Schools of Government.

The censorship committee, and each censor in particular, when examining books and writings, observes that there is nothing in them contrary to the law of God, government, morality and personal honor of any citizen. a censor who approves a book or work contrary to this prescription, as a violator of the law, is subject to liability, in proportion to the importance of guilt.

If the censor, in the manuscript delivered to him, finds some places that are contrary to the prescription indicated in the previous paragraph 15, then he does not himself make any amendments to them; but having designated such places, he sends the manuscript to the publisher, so that he himself changes or excludes them. Upon the return of the manuscript corrected in this way, the censor approves it for publication.

The censor acts in the same way in examining periodicals and other books consisting of small works that have no connection with each other, not approving for publication only those of them that are contrary to the prescription mentioned in paragraph 15.

If a manuscript is sent to censorship, full of thoughts and expressions that offend the personal honor of a citizen, decency and morality; then the censorship committee, refusing to publish such an essay, at the same time announces the reasons for this prohibition to the one who sent it; but the composition itself keeps to itself.

If, however, a manuscript is sent to censorship, full of thoughts and expressions that clearly reject the existence of God, arming itself against the faith and laws of the fatherland, insulting the supreme authority, or completely contrary to the spirit of social order and silence; then the committee immediately announces such a manuscript to the government, in order to find the writer and act with him according to the laws.

In examining plays presented at theaters, censorship is guided by the same prescriptions as in examining other compositions.

However, in prohibiting the printing or omission of books and writings, censorship is guided by prudent indulgence, avoiding any biased interpretation of works or passages in them, which for some imaginary reasons seem to be subject to prohibition. When a place subject to doubt has a double meaning; in such a case, it is better to interpret it in a way that is most beneficial to the writer than to persecute him.

A modest and prudent study of any truth relating to faith, humanity, civil status, legal status, government, or any branch of government, is not only not subject to the most moderate severity of censorship, but enjoys complete freedom of stamping, exalting the successes of enlightenment.

Censorship should not delay the manuscripts sent for its consideration, especially journals and other periodicals, which have to come out in a hurry and lose the price of news if they are published later.

Censorship returns books and essays according to the seniority of their entry. Excluded from this rule are periodicals, journals, and other writings, the main purpose of which is to be published by a certain time. These works must always be returned before others.

On the basis of this statute, prints or images tending to the obvious temptation and insult of any person are also prohibited.

Censorship committees are guided by the same Charter in examining books, essays and prints, from foreign lands, subscribed for their own use by universities.

Books and prints ordered by booksellers from foreign lands are not considered by censorship; but every censorship committee that sells foreign books in the district subordinate to the university obliges them to subscribe, so that they do not sell books and prints contrary to the prescriptions in this Charter, which are under the fear of a strict response and punishment under the laws. To maintain the censorship committee, book sellers, at certain times of the year, deliver to it catalogs of all foreign books and prints sold by them, and upon receipt of new ones, additions to the catalogs.

Censorship committees are also required to demand catalogs and additions to them from booksellers selling books printed within the state.

It is left to the bookseller who sells foreign books to demand permission from the censorship committee if he is in doubt about whether to sell the book or not.

The Censorship Committee has its own office under the direction of a secretary and a press.

The secretary keeps a journal of all essays submitted for consideration by the committee. This journal records the title of each manuscript or work, the number of pages in it, the day on which it entered the censorship, the name of the publisher or writer, if they are known; the name of the owner of the printing house from which the manuscript will be printed, the name of the censor who read it and the date of return from censorship with an explanation of whether the entire manuscript is approved for printing or with the exception of something.

Works approved by the censor for publication must be stapled sheet by sheet by the censor who read them; the time of approval and the name of the censor are displayed on the back of the title page.

Each censorship committee is required to immediately notify all other censorship committees of a manuscript or printed work that is not approved for publication or sale in its district.

If, however, the civil local authorities consider to ban a book that was on sale, then they must first refer to the censorship committee.

The censorship committee submits monthly extracts from the journals to the university council, which forwards them to the trustee. In St. Petersburg, the censorship committee submits extracts from its journals directly to the trustee. Such extracts are submitted by the trustees to the Main Board of Schools for general information.

The censorship committee is allowed to entrust the examination of books and essays to directors of gymnasiums; but only in necessary cases, when the committee is burdened with business, or is published in some city remote from the university, a periodical that must be published at an urgent time. Then the director is responsible for the works approved by him for embossing, reports monthly about all the books approved or prohibited by him to the committee, from which, in doubtful cases, he requires permission.

Section III.
About writers, translators,
publishers of books and owners of printing houses

Any writer, translator, or publisher who wishes to print a manuscript delivers it, cleanly and clearly written, to the censors of the district in which his manuscript is to be printed.

The writer, translator or publisher, if they wish, may not print their name on the work; but the name of the owner of the printing house must certainly be put on the title page, also the city where the book was printed, and the year when it was printed.

An essay or translation approved by the censor may be reprinted without being subjected to a second review; but if the new edition of them contains additions, remarks and other changes in meaning, in this case the publisher is obliged to send to censorship before printing either the entire newly corrected book or those places in it that are not in the previous edition. For violation of this obligation, if the book is printed, the publisher and the owner of the printing house are liable in the same way as they would be responsible for printing a book that was not approved by the censor, on the basis of paragraphs 43 and 44 of this Charter.

If the writer or publisher considers himself offended for the disapproval of his work for publication, as well as in case of detention of his work or any other harassment, he can bring a complaint about censorship to the Main Schools Board, which will decide whether the complaint is justified or not. It is also provided to bring a complaint to this board in the event of a ban on the sale of books already printed by censorship committees.

If a book that has already been printed is given to the printing house for printing with a second stamping, then the owner of the printing house considers whether any changes indicated in paragraph 39 have been made in it; if they are made, but not again approved by the censorship, then the book is not printed, but returned to the person from whom it was received, or with the consent of the person who wants to print it, sends it to the censorship; otherwise, responds on the basis of the same paragraph 39.

For the publication of a book or essay not approved by the censorship, even if it does not contain anything contrary to the regulations contained in this Charter, the entire plant of the printed book or essay is taken to the order of public charity; and in addition, in favor of the same order, they are charged from the owner of the printing house, if he printed the book not at his own expense, all the costs that the printing of the entire plant cost.

If, however, a book or work printed without the permission of censorship contains, in addition, the passages mentioned in paragraphs 18 and 19 of this Rule, then the owner of the printing house and the publisher are referred to the court; but the book or composition is burned.

Originally signed:
Mikhailo Muraviev
Prince Adam Czartoryski
G. Severin Potocki
Nikolay Novosiltsov
Fedor Klinger
Stepan Rumovsky
Nikolay Ozeretskovsky
Nicholas Fus.

On a genuine hand of HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY
it is written taco: Be according to this.
ALEXANDER
In St. Petersburg on July 9, 1804.

domestic censorship. The origin of censorship in the Russian state should be considered with the advent of handwritten and then printed books. The publishing business was closely connected with the activities of the church, since it was also controlled by it. Printed editions of the pre-Petrine era were mainly of a religious nature, their number was small, which greatly simplified control over printing houses. All products were printed with the personal permission of the Patriarch.

One of the first to limit the total influence of church censorship was Peter I, which introduced the concept of secular censorship. The decree of 1720 forbade the publication of any books, including church ones, without the approval of a special Theological College. In subsequent years, there was a further process of dividing censorship into secular and spiritual. According to Elizabeth's decree, permission to print church books was issued by the Synod, and secular books by the Senate.

In general, in the XVIII century. censorship was not yet sufficiently developed and organized, and the president of the Academy of Sciences, its members and the office acted as censors. But by the end of the eighteenth century. the volume of book publishing grew significantly, and the government for the first time realized the need to recognize the official status of censorship. As a result, Catherine II introduces the position of state censor, organizes a censorship apparatus that develops general rules.

Alexander Semyonovich Shishkov (March 9 (20), 1754, Moscow - April 9 (21), 1841, St. Petersburg) - Russian writer, military and statesman. Secretary of State and Minister of Public Education. One of the leading Russian ideologists during the Patriotic War of 1812, a well-known conservative, the initiator of the publication of the protective censorship charter of 1826. President of the Russian Academy, philologist and literary critic. Admiral.

However, by the first half of the XIX century. and these measures were not enough, and on June 9, 1804. Alexander I approves the first censorship charter. He ordered all publications intended for public coverage to have confirmation of verification. The main goal of censorship itself was proclaimed to be the protection of society from books and writings that did not have educational functions. In this regard, a ban was introduced on the creation, sale or purchase of works of art without consideration by censors. One of the consequences of the adoption of the charter was the development of a political form of censorship. Supervision of compliance with the document passed to the police department, and the creation of the Ministry of Spiritual Affairs and Public Education led to increased control over universities and journalism. In addition to exercising reasonable control over the domestic printed word, the Charter gave permission for the import of foreign literature and the free operation of printing houses, which was a clear indicator of the existence of genuine Christian democracy in Russian society during the period of the monarchy.

The censorship reform of 1826 further strengthened state control over the sphere of communications of its time.

According to the updated charter, the Supreme Censorship Committee was established, whose functions included control over science, public opinion and the education of young people. At the same time, the staff of censors, as well as their powers, was significantly increased. According to statistics, one third of the writings of that time did not pass the approval of the censors and, therefore, were not sent to print. Under Nicholas I, decisions on major censorship issues were often taken directly by the Emperor.

But at the same time, the volume of printed matter steadily increased, making control of the press ever more difficult to obtain. In addition, by the end of the XIX century. the activity of the terrorist revolutionary movement increased sharply. Revolutionary terrorists increasingly used periodicals and newspapers in their activities, which, in turn, led to the use of a new method of combating anti-state elements on the part of the state - economic. One of these methods was the ban on retail sales and the ban on advertising.

But, as the dramatic events of 1905 showed, all these measures were insufficient. After all, the processes of capitalization also affected journalism, which served as a liberalization of the then media. The censorship department simply did not keep up with the creation of an increasing number of opposition workers' parties, and, consequently, their publications. In addition, in society, with the light hand of the capitalists and left-wing terrorists, there was more and more talk about freedom of speech and the prohibition of censorship. Journalism was now controlled not only by the censorship apparatus of the state, but also by the owners of publishing houses. The people who invested used the press both for advertising and for power struggles or the market for resources. As a result, the censorship regime began to be formed not only by the state, but also by individuals interested in the implementation of one or another information line. The coups of 1917 interrupted this natural process of development of the information space, creating a new literature, art, journalism, which were immediately subjected to total control, but by completely new political forces and state bodies. And the censorship apparatus created by the new Soviet system was perhaps the most powerful in the entire history of the world, and this is a subject for a completely different conversation.

Prepared from:
http://www.pseudology.org/Tsenzura/TsetzuraHistory/library_view_book7731.html?chapter_num=-1&bid=79
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_in_Russian_Empire
http://evartist.narod.ru/text9/35.htm
http://konodyuk.com/view_stany.php?id=481

Charters of the Nikolaev era: the formation of the censorship apparatus